Roses are Red
by clementine-cake
Summary: When Seph finally gets out of small-town Ohio and moves in with her eccentric aunt and cousin to attend Hollywood Arts, there's one thing for sure; she never meant to spiral into the biggest attraction she's ever felt in her life. And as the cards play out, Seph thinks she might've even stumbled, tripped, and fallen flat on her face in love with this red-headed girl. Cat/OC.
1. Intro

**Hey everyone! Here's a new story of mine, Roses are Red. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry if this chapter's a little slow- its getting the story all set up. I'll post the next chapter very soon.**

* * *

Red.

Everywhere.

That's all I see- nothing else, nothing at all. Just a vast expanse of red, red, red.

I woke up gasping, groping the air in the darkness. I sat up in my bed quickly, flicking on the lights and wiping the sweat off of my face. I've never had a nightmare so strange, so unclear before.

I threw my shaky hands over my face. "Calm down, Seph," I sighed to myself. _It's probably just all the stress you're feeling from packing up your life and moving to LA. _

I look around at the 4 or so boxes crowding my small room. It felt so... empty. I had spent my entire life in this room, and now I was just throwing it all in a box and moving to _Los Angeles_. Although I had always wanted to live in LA, and I was ecstatic that my parents finally gave into my constant nagging about me moving there so I could properly pursue my love for music and songwriting, once they broke the news that it was actually happening, that they were sending me off, it was exciting but... kind of a lot to take in, to say the least.

I remember back to the day my parents told me the news just a few short weeks ago. I was sitting in my living room, plucking the strings of my worn-out guitar, ready to sing a new tune I had just written.

"Seph? Sweetheart?" My mom said to me tentatively. "We need to talk to you."

You may be wondering, what the hell kind of name is Seph? Its like someone shortened Stephanie, but took out the 't'. Its because my full name is Persephone, but no one calls me that except for my grandparents and other very close relatives. Yes, I know, its unusual to hear someone named after Hades' wife from Greek mythology, but since both of my parents are 100% Greek and my mom is a HUGE mythology nerd, which includes teaching mythology courses at my high school, she _had_ to have me be 'unique and named after a Greek goddess'. My dad very reluctantly complied. Persephone was always her favorite goddess. If your wondering, _yes_ I was bullied and ostracized for having such a different name as a young child.

I looked up at them. They had that classic parent facial expression that told me this was serious business. I put down my guitar, worried.

"What is it? Is Yia Yia okay?" That means Grandma in Greek, if you're wondering. She was in the hospital because she fell recently.

"Oh, of course, honey, your Grandmother is fine," my Dad assured me. "Actually, the news we have for you is very exciting."

"We've thought about how much you've always wanted to move to Los Angeles, about how much you love music and writing songs," my mom began. "At first, when you began to show interest, we thought it would just be a little hobby of yours. But when you started becoming so interested, and asking to move to LA, well... we just weren't convinced you were sure it was what you wanted, that maybe this was just a phase. But, its been a long time since you began to show interest, and now, this _passion_ of yours has grown so much that, well, we just... we realize now that you're sure. You _are _sure, aren't you? That that is what you want?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Yes..."

It was Dad's turn to speak. "Well, although we, er, don't quite understand this passion, and quite frankly it took us some time to warm up to the fact that you were wanting to pursue such and unstable job as a _career_-"

"George..." My mother warned.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry. Anyway. The point is, we want what's best for you and your future, and what makes you happy. So... as you remember, your aunt Anastasia and cousin Alex live in Los Angeles, and a while back I told Ana about how much you wanted to live there, and one thing lead to another..."

"If you so desire, your Aunt would _love_ for you to move in with her and her son until you graduate your senior year."

My mouth dropped open and I stood. "Woah, woah, woah! Back it up a second! You're serious right now?!"

"Although it may be hard to believe... of course we are. As I said, we want you to have an opportunity to pursue your passions."

I couldn't believe it. I felt like my head was going to explode. I couldn't help but grin. "No way! I'm... I'm moving to LA?"

My mom smiled. "If thats really what you want, then yes, we support it!"

For the rest of the day, I was elated. I couldn't believe it! I was finally getting out of small-town Rosenbaum Valley, Ohio, and leaving for LA! To say I was excited would have been the understatement of the century. But after about an hour of freaking out, I had _so_ many questions!

"So, Dad, how did Mom ever convince you to allow the fact that I'll be living with your supposed 'crazy' little sister and nephew?"

My dad sighed, running a hand through his thick black hair. "It took quite a lot of convincing from your mother... but since we don't know any other relatives in the area, and we're only willing to trust family members for your care and safety, it was the only option. And I know, over the years, I've said that my sister can be a bit... _liberal._ And I don't totally agree with anything she says or does. And-"

"I've never even met her," I said, finishing his sentence. "Or Alex. Because of your 'disagreements.' "

My dad's lips formed a stern line. "I just think Ana can be a bit too irresponsible and free-willed sometimes, thats all. But, still, I... I'm going to make an exception and trust her with you." He looked me up and down. "Besides, you two will get along very well. You've always been _much_ more similar to her than me. You even look more like her."

My eyebrows shot up. I still couldn't believe this. Ever since I was a little girl my dad had always told stories about how crazy my Aunt Anastasia was. My dad and his sister were raised by Greek immigrants, raised fully immersed in the Greek culture. Their parents were very successful doctors and also owned a Greek restaurant on the side. You ever seen the movie _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_? Yeah, that movie basically described my dads life. My dad and my sister were both raised with two important rules to make their parents proud- make lots of money and marry someone Greek. My dad followed through with this, marrying my mom, who's Greek, and becoming a lawyer. My aunt... not so much. She's a single mom, still never been married, and she's an artist. My grandparents practically disowned her when she got pregnant at age 19 without being married first. And, of course, the father wasn't even _Greek._ Also, I think she might be bicurious. But I don't really know. Oh, what a scandal. Ugh. Stupid small town people.

But because of all of this, my dad doesn't keep in touch with my aunt or her son, who is now just around my age, almost 17. My dad calls her on Christmas day every year, but besides that... nothing. It feels like an important part of my family is just this big, empty mystery. I don't even know what either of them look like; I've never seen a picture.

But that was all about to change. Because now I was going to get to live with them. And I couldn't be more excited. I wasn't gonna lie; although my dad sees her as outrageously outspoken, too liberal, and crazy, from what I've heard she seems like one cool chick.

Onto my next question. "What about school? Where am I going to go to school?"

My mom grinned. "We wanted to keep this a surprise, but... we enrolled you into that nice arts school you mention all the time! We sent them an application and a video of you singing one of your original songs, and they _loved_ you! They said they're so excited that you're going to attend their school!"

I shrieked, jumping. "NO WAY! You enrolled me into Hollywood Arts?! And I _got in?"_ This was the best day of my whole life. Hands down.

"Yes! We're so proud of you, honey!"

My moms words echoed in my mind as I come back to the present moment, sitting in my bed in a cold sweat. That weird dream did a number on me... I'm still panting a bit. I lay back down, readjusting my long, dark hair and taking a deep, slow breath. I am leaving tomorrow. Just at the thought of this, my mind is reeling with so many thoughts and my core swells with so many emotions. I'm excited, nervous, confused, terrified... What if I didn't fit in at Hollywood Arts? After all, I've only ever seen pictures on their website and read about their classes. What if I'm not cut out for this?

I shake my head of the thoughts. Of _course_ I am. This has been my dream since longer than I can remember. And from the second I stumbled upon Hollywood Arts, I knew I _had_ to go there. It was like my calling or something. I knew that as long as I had my guitar and my songwriting notebook with me, I could go anywhere and feel unstoppable. I was so ready to live in Los Angeles with my artsy aunt and her son, and go to an awesome school. With people there who will be _just like me_. I've never had that before.

As I'm about to flick off my lights, I look over at my guitar and smile. "Looks like you and me will be starting our journey to takin' on LA tomorrow. And nothing's gonna stop us from _rocking_ that place. We've been ready for this for years."


	2. Relatives

"Seph!"

I whipped around and see my best friend, my only friend, since 2nd grade. Yeah, in a small town, being ethnic, alternative, and really into music and songwriting doesn't exactly allow me to fit in with the popular kids, rendering me, and Tanya, 'losers.' Ugh. Tanya ran up to me and enveloped me in a big hug after I set down one of the last boxes into the giant van my dad rented out. I buried my face in her blonde hair and felt the tears threatened to emerge.

"Don't get swallowed by those crazy fake rich people, okay?" she joked. "And if you see Ricky Martin there, you get his autograph for me or else."

I laughed. "Of course. I know how much you love him." I squeezed her tight. "I'm going to miss you so much... I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

Tanya smiled, pulling away. "Don't even worry. Those kids in LA are going to fucking _worship_ you."

I grinned. "I hope so, Tanya. I hope so."

* * *

Los Angeles was even better than I ever imagined. The heavy, warm air, the palm trees, the summery, warm sunlight, the constant smell of the beach- it was amazing. The whole ride to my Aunts house I had my head out the open window, breathing in the salty air. There was nothing like it in the world.

Finally we got to Anastasia's place. The guy my parents hired to drive me and my stuff to their place was ready to unload the boxes, but wanted me to knock on the door so he could set them down directly into the house. I walked up to the huge, bright orange door. Never in my life have I even seen a door this color. I knock, suddenly feeling very nervous. _This is it. I'm about to meet crazy aunt Anastasia. I can't believe this._

The door opens, and I almost gasp. The woman standing before me is definitely her alright- because besides the colorful, baggy outfit and all the tattoos, this woman resembles me so much, its almost shocking. She has the same long, dark hair, olive skin, and we're just about the same height. We even have our nose rings on the _same side_. She must see it, too, because her hazel eyes widen. _Hazel eyes, just like mine... now I know why I don't have dark eyes like my mom or dad._

Anastasia grins and squeals like a teenager. "PERSEPHONE!" She almost screams as she throws her arms around me and starts to jump up and down. Now, if theres one thing for sure, I definitely didn't inherit this woman's energy level...

"H-Hi, Anastasia," I say between a laugh. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you."

"Me neither!" She says, pulling back. "Let's celebrate! I'll pop the champagne. Wait, how old are you again? You're almost 18, right? That's the drinking age, yeah? Oh, who cares, I'll just pour you some anyway. Woo! Party! Oh, how fuckin' rude of me, come inside! Take off your shoes, make yourself at home, girl! You need to meet Alex! Oh, I just _love_ your outfit."

Woah. This woman was all over the place. But I just couldn't help but grin- she was even cooler than I expected her to be. I walked in and took off my lace up boots, the van driver guy coming in with the first box. As he left, Anastasia's jaw dropped as her eyes followed him out the door.

"Damn, he was sexy, wasn't he? God I could just eat him _alive._ Did you see those muscles? How old do you think he was? Whew! Somebody get me a fan, I think I'm overheating. ALEX! COME DOWNSTAIRS RIGHT NOW! PERSEPHONE IS HERE! Oh, let me get the champagne!"

I burst into a fit of laughter. This woman really _was _crazy- but in the absolute best way possible. I was in love with her already. She ran over to the kitchen and got the champagne from the refrigerator and three glasses, popping the cork loudly and yelping as she did, messily pouring the pale liquid into the tall glasses. She hands one to me when I walk over, giving me a once-over again.

"Well, aren't your just _gor-geous!"_ she says. "My brother must've married someone smokin' _hot_ to have a kid looking as good as you! I don't think your father got as lucky as you in the looks department, if ya know what I mean..." she says, giggling.

Wow, this woman knew how to spew words like rapid _fire._ I could barely keep up with what she was saying. "Yeah," I laugh, not sure how to respond. "Also we look a lot a like, too."

Anastasia puts a hand to her chest. "Well, isn't that sweet! I take that as a very nice compliment, coming from such a pretty girl! ALEX! Damnit, come downstairs! Don't leave you're cousin waiting on you! Oh, by the way, you don't need to call me Auntie or whatever the hell kids call their aunts these days, just call me Ana! Simple as that! Ah, Alex, you _finally _decide to join us, you lazy little teenager. Why are you in your pajamas?"

I look over and see a teenage boy with flannel pajama pants and a black t-shirt on. He has spiky brown hair and his skin is almost as dark, but just a bit lighter, than me and Ana's. But as he gets closer to me, I can't help but notice his eyes- they are possibly the brightest color green I've ever seen in my life. I didn't even know it was possible to have such a color for your eyes.

"Mom, I was sleeping," he grumbled. "It's Sunday. You know I like to sleep in on Sunday."

Ana looked at the time. "It's almost 2pm, Alex! You crazy teen, you. Anyway! Alex, this is my brother's daughter, aka your first cousin, Persephone! She's gonna chill with _us_ and go to Hollywood Arts until she's _done with her senior year!_ Woohoo! Par-tay!"

Alex looks over at me and flashes a big smile. With eyes and a smile like that, and the messy hair tousled and in his face, he's clearly very attractive. Which is a super weird thought because he's my cousin. So, gross. And I'm pretty sure I'm a lesbian. Emphasis on the word _pretty sure._

" 'Sup," he says, nodding to me. "I'm Alex. It's nice to finally meet you. Love the name, by the way. Your parents must love Greek Mythology."

"Yeah, my moms super into it. Speaking of my name- you guys can just call me Seph. No one really calls me Persephone, except for my grandparents..."

Ana's face falls. "Aw, why's that? Persephone is, like, the coolest name ever. Why would you shorten it? It was your dads idea, wasn't it? I'll bet you anything it was your dad!"

I shrug. "I dunno. Its just always kinda been that way."

Her hazel eyes narrow. "Yeah. Definitely your dads doing. Shortening such a pretty name- what a shame..." she was mumbling to herself now, in between sips of champagne. Alex noticed this and grabbed a glass, turning to me, ignoring his mother still muttering to herself.

"So, you're gonna go to Hollywood Arts, eh? That's awesome. You have to be insanely talented to go there. Whats your talent?" He asks.

"Oh, I write songs. I play my guitar and sing them, too, although I've never really done it for an audience or anything before."

Alex chuckles. "That is _definitely_ gonna change once you go to Hollywood Arts."

Alex and I make small talk for a while. He goes to a public school nearby, and wants to be a novel writer. He seemed really cool and interesting and I enjoyed talking to him, although his eyes were incredibly distracting. Seriously, though. So green.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Alex scrunches his face in confusion, but Ana's eyes widen. "Ooh! That must be our neighbor! I invited her over to meet you, Perse- Oh, sorry, I mean Seph. I'll try to get used to that..."

Alex's face goes pale, looking down at his pajamas. "Shit! Mom, you didn't tell me you invited _Tori Vega_ over!"

Ana laughs. "Go upstairs and change, honey. Don't worry. I'll try not to show her the baby pictures while your gone."

Alex's face turns beet red. "Don't even joke about that, Mom!" He exclaims, running up the stairs.

Ana laughs loudly, walking towards the door. "That boy has _the biggest_ crush on our neighbor, Tori. She goes to Hollywood Arts, too- that's why I invited her over! Ooh you two will love eachother, I just know it! You can have sleepovers _whenever_, hun!"

She opens the door wide to reveal a pretty, tall brunette with dark eyes and a warm smile. Her style is simple and she is holding a purse that if I had any taste in anything girly, I would probably find cute, but honestly I'm not really into the whole designer purse thing.

"Hi, Mrs. Demetriou!" Tori says. "Nice to see you."

Ana puts a hand on her hip. "Ugh, _Tori_, your gorgeousness never ceases to assault my eyes, baby! Come one in! I'm just dying for you to meet my niece! Oh, and honey, I _beg _you to to just call me Ana, or at least Anastasia. Mrs. Demetriou is my elderly mother- don't wanna associate myself with _that_ crazy old bat! Ha!"

Tori laughs and walks in, her eyes settling on me and her smile warming as she walks over. "Hey, I'm Tori. Welcome to Los Angeles!"

_Woah, she's kinda hot... but not really my type, I don't think. Do I even have a type? God I don't even know. _The thought passes through my mind quickly and I try to answer before it seems like I'm just standing there saying nothing. "Hey, I'm Seph Demetriou. Its really nice to meet you. And I absolutely can't wait to start living here."


End file.
